About half an hour ago.
Tina and Emerson were deep in conversation, quietly mapping out their next move. They were just about to talk through the details of calling a board meeting—how to set everything up for the transition—when the office door suddenly flew open.
Emerson’s mom stormed in, eyes blazing as she stared him down. “Care to explain? You’re really planning to hand over the company to Tina?”
“Mom? What are you doing here?” Emerson jumped up from the couch, completely caught off guard.
Tina didn’t even flinch. She stayed put, not making the slightest move to stand. Of course she could hear the judgment in Emerson’s mother’s voice. Same old story—it didn’t matter what she did, Tina was still a woman, and that was always a problem.
Never mind the fact that Emerson’s mom was a woman herself.
“If I hadn’t come here, were you ever going to tell me? This company will always belong to our family, no matter what.” Her tone was icy and unyielding.
“So this is why you two have been too ‘busy’ to come home lately?” She practically spat out the word ‘busy,’ as if she thought they were off doing something unforgivable.
“Mom, the company has its own rules and ways of doing things. You wouldn’t really understand. Why don’t I have someone drive you home?” Emerson said, already reaching for his phone to call his assistant.
But his mom brushed his hand away, completely ignoring him. Instead, she fixed Tina with a cold stare. “What, you can’t even bother to say hello when you see me now?”
Tina finally stood up, forcing a polite smile. “Hello, Mom.”
She had no choice but to keep up appearances as long as Emerson was still in charge. Nothing was settled yet. She had to wait it out.
“That didn’t sound very heartfelt,” his mom shot back, her voice sharp.


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